‘Outlander’ Cast: What Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe and More Look Like in Real Life

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‘Outlander’ Cast: What Sam Heughan, Caitriona Balfe and More Look Like in Real Life

From the Scottish hills to the real world! Throughout their seven seasons on Starz, the stars of Outlander have demonstrated intriguing time-travel twists, sizzling chemistry and more intricate details on screen.

The hit drama series, initially based on Diana Gabaldon’s 13-book franchise, follows a married combat nurse from 1945, Claire Randall (Caitriona Balfe), who somehow gets swept back in time to 1793. In her new world, she meets Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan), a chivalrous Scottish warrior, and soon gets involved in an intensely passionate romance.

The bestselling author previously noted via her official website that she was “delighted” with the casting of the leading players, even helping out the Starz creative team in bringing her literary creation to life.

“While Diana works hard on writing book eight of the Outlander series, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, she took a little time out to give feedback on the casting process and choices to [creator] Ron Moore and the casting crew,” a statement on the website read. “The fact that the production staff asks for Diana’s input, and does their best to implement her thoughts and ideas, should reassure readers that this production will be as true to her books as possible!”

Gabaldon isn’t the only one who’s been pleased with the televised adaptation — the actors are equally as excited.

“I think what’s nice to see is that these are two people who genuinely have a great love for each other,” Balfe told Us Weekly in March 2018 about working alongside the Bloodshot actor. “They have a great chemistry, but they also just like each other as who they are and they find each other interesting. They actually settle down. It’s a different dynamic, and it’s nice to explore that. You know, there’s a couple of cute scenes where it’s just daily domesticity. So I like it.”

At the time, the Ireland native couldn’t stop gushing about her costar and their onscreen love story.

“So it’s about, how do we keep the writing fresh, how do we keep the story fresh, how do we let these characters evolve and explore other facets of their life?” the Ford v Ferrari actress recalled. “And it’s like, well, obviously their love is not going to be the same at 30 as it will be at 50. So what does that look like? That’s what excited me as an actor, is being able to just explore new things. We get it. They’re in love. It’s the biggest love they’ve ever experienced. We can’t just keep going over that and over that. So what’s new about that? What did they discover new about each other? And that’s what’s beautiful about this couple is that they do. They grow and they evolve together. It’s really lovely to watch.”

Scroll down to see what the cast looks like outside of Fraser’s Ridge:

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Caitriona Balfe (Claire Randall)

“I'm constantly surprised by [Claire],” Balfe recalled to Elle magazine in May 2020. “I loved that Claire is menopausal toward the end of this season [5] — I advocated early on for much more of this. It's a fascinating moment in a woman's life to explore. I hope we can carry that into the next season because it has a huge impact on how you feel as a woman, about yourself and your family and your confidence."

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser)

The Men in Kilts alum opened up about bringing a beloved literary hero to life during an appearance on the “Just the Facts With Alex Zane” podcast in June 2021.

“I think playing an iconic character, and I think Jamie Fraser’s definitely one, people are ... obsessed with these characters,” Heughan said at the time. “They’re so invested in them and they want them to be real and they want to get as close to them as possible. So I think sometimes it is hard for people to separate the actor from the character.”

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Duncan Lacroix (Murtagh Fraser)

“I was extremely grateful as an actor [to continue playing this role], and I was aware that I was very grateful for the fans’ reaction to that character as well,” the England native told Den of Geek in September 2020. “I was talking to a couple of producers and they said, ‘Well, we want to keep you alive because we want some sense of continuity rather than kill everyone off from the first couple of seasons and just have Claire and Jamie left.’”

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Sophie Skelton (Brianna Randall Fraser)

Skelton previously teased the series’ sixth season after filming wrapped, writing via Instagram in June 2021, “Pushing through the added complications of a pandemic and alll the elements Scottish weather could throw at us (!!) our cast and crew deserve [a humongous] round of applause. Thank you to each and every one of them, and to each and every one of you fans for sticking with us through this extra-long hiatus. We appreciate your passion, support, and continued patience more than you possibly know. I think we’ve made a pretty great season for you here! so we hope it makes up for the wait 🤍 And, as a little cherry on top, we’re making season 7 an extra long one. With 16 eps, to say thanks for being the best. Until then, here’s to Season 6! Start the countdown and… enjoy!!”

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Richard Rankin (Roger Wakefield)

“Roger taking a life is against absolutely everything he is or certainly everything he used to be — everything he values,” Rankin reflects on his big turning point during episode 12 of season 5 during an interview with Elle in May 2020. “Whether or not that's changed and he's not that person anymore, I suppose maybe we'll explore that later on. But he doesn't do it lightly, and it's sort of by necessity, and he's got forced into this position … And it's all because of what happened with Claire. [They've] got to get her back. He's thinking of nothing else other than, when he says, 'There's a time for blood and it's now…' He means that. He doesn't wish it, but he means it … He wouldn't have been able to do that a season or so ago, so I think it says a lot about how far he's come with the family and what he's willing to do to protect that family."

Credit: Loredana Sangiuliano/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

Tobias Menzies (Frank Randall)

“I would say the main sort of 'planks' of these three episodes is, we start with a man who is trying to rebuild a relationship with a woman who has come back, but I think he knows in his gut she isn't entirely in love with him — not in the same way he's in love with her,” the Crown alum told Harper’s Bazaar in September 2017 of his character Frank’s journey ahead of his season 3 death. “There's that core inequality, but he chooses to proceed anyway, to make the sacrifice to father this child that she's had by someone else. Then I think over the course of those three episodes, we see he hadn't anticipated the feelings he had for this child. They're much more powerful and much more overwhelming. … I think he outgrows Claire and it's weirdly contradictory, the way the relationship with this child gives him the perspective and the strength to move on from what is essentially a mismatched, pretty loveless marriage."

Credit: Courtesy César Domboy/Instagram

César Domboy (Fergus)

Domboy gushed over filming the fifth season via Instagram in May 2020, writing, “Full House 1772 ❤️ Happy days at the ridge... I miss these goons, hope we’ll be able to all gather again soon !! That’s what the ridge was about on screen and on set, [gathering], and we enjoyed that everyday. This is what made this season special too I feel.”

Credit: Duncan McGlynn/BAFTA/Shutterstock

Lauren Lyle (Marsali)

“Marsali is so well put together, and always looks perfect,” the Scotland native told Radio Times in August 2021. “And everyone in period dramas, like, you have to look — you’re so meticulously planned, like every hair, it’s matched and set. I remember going back to [the make-up artist] in season six and being like, ‘I got to look like s—t’.”

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Graham McTavish (Dougal MacKenzie)

The Clanlands author recalled his experience filming the Starz series during an Express interview in May 2021.

 “I had such a wonderful time doing Outlander for the two and a half years that I was filming it and for the brief time that I came back to do it again in season five,” McTavish noted at the time. “I absolutely loved it and the people. I mean … you know, apart from Sam, who's a dear friend, you know, I've made friends there that I'll have for the rest of my life.”

Credit: Courtesy Grant O’Rourke/Instagram

Grant O’Rourke (Rupert MacKenzie)

"I got asked to audition for it, my agent explained what it was, I’d never heard of it. I remember the script for that scene and thinking, you know, ‘[Oh], here we go, Americans writing Scottish characters,’” O’Rourke recalled of his audition during a May 2019 interview with Absolute Music Chat. “I say that thing about Americans writing Scottish characters, this was before they started filming and before they started working with everyone, the writers did a cracking job of getting the dialogue authentic sounding.”